Out Ricky Martin setting an example

Last Monday, pop star Ricky Martin came out of the closet as “a fortunate homosexual man.” Personally, this came as no shock to me. I was more in shock that this announcement was just coming out now.

I thought that Martin came out years ago; you know, when people actually cared about him. The point is that Martin is now out and proud, and happily living with his boyfriend.

Martin’s coming out at this time does mean something important. It shows that the tolerance of the country is going up, and that people are kind-of okay with gay celebrities. I hesitate to call Martin a celebrity at this time, seeing as he hasn’t really been in the public light since about 2007.

Martin is not the only example of an out-and-proud public figure. Men such as Neil Patrick Harris, most recognized as Barney Stinson on “How I Met Your Mother,” Cheyenne Jackson, Broadway star and series regular on “30 Rock,” and John Barrowman, screen and stage star, have made it possible for Martin to finally feel comfortable and come out to the world as who he really is.

Why does it matter that these men and so many other men and women within the entertainment industry are coming out to the public eye? Because they are the ones who are leading the way for more people across the country to realize who they really are and come out as well.

A lot of people argue that it shouldn’t matter if a celebrity is gay and in the closet – that it is their personal life, and we should let them be. While I do agree that celebrities do deserve more privacy than they are often given, the fact is that hiding in the closet is not helping anyone anymore. We can clearly see people are becoming more comfortable with gay men and women.

At this point, staying in the closet is just something that in some cases can hurt people, both directly and indirectly. Reports of anonymous male celebrities and politicians cheating on wives or girlfriends with a man come out so frequently that it barely seems shocking anymore. Hiding in the closet is also giving off the illusion to those who see these closet cases that there is something wrong with being gay, which is not the message that we want to send to people.

All in all, what Ricky Martin did – while about five years too late – was brave and something others in the closet should look up to.